Page 10 of Miss Belief

“We can put the money toward a new place.”

One of the reasons I’d stayed past my one-year contract with Delmont Security was for the pay. The company covered my housing, and I was otherwise able to keep my costs low while making a decent wage. But if I was being truthful with myself, I wasn’t sure I was ready to go home yet. I’d gotten a taste of adventure here in Dubai, and I selfishly didn’t know if I was ready for it to end.

“I will sleep much better once you give notice, so please consider it. Good luck with your boss.”

I’d need it. “Thanks. I’ll be sending you lots of good vibes for your interview. Love you, sis.”

She gave me one of her rare, genuine smiles. “Thanks. Love you too, Teag. Bye.”

I hung up and sighed. For a girl who’d successfully avoided feelings for most of my life, it shouldn’t be an issue to pretend I didn’t have any when it came to Reid Maxwell and become his fake girlfriend. Right?

* * *

The next morningI was a ball of nerves when I knocked on my boss’s office door. I’d made up my mind. He wanted a fake girlfriend, and I was about to offer to play the part.

“Come in,” came his deep-timbred voice.

He glanced up when I entered but then frowned when his phone rang. “Sorry, this will only take a moment if you don’t mind waiting?”

“I don’t mind.”

It gave me a chance to observe him. Dammit. A crush consisted of pleasure, anxiety, hope, and hopelessness all at once. It was all-consuming, and not at all conducive to becoming his fake girlfriend. Then again, wouldn’t it be nice to sit here without all of those feelings?

After hanging up his work call, he flashed me an apologetic smile. “Sorry to keep you waiting. What’s up?”

I rubbed my palms against my black trousers. “Oh, um, you know, I thought I’d go with you to the wedding.”

His brows jumped up. “No, no, like I said yesterday, I shouldn’t have asked you to come with me.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”

An adorable blush stained his cheeks. “Why?”

Because I hoped to test my feelings for him. Either I’d get over my crush by getting to know him better, or I’d fall harder and get hurt. Win-win, right?

“First, I want to help you. Secondly, it would be a nice mini-vacation, and lastly, I intend to take you up on your offer to fly me to see my sister afterwards.”

He seemed to contemplate. “You’re not doing it because you feel sorry for my mopey ass?”

In reality, he had a fine ass, one I’d checked out more times than I could count. “No, although you should know I won’t stand for any more mope. My fake boyfriends are quite happy to be with me.”

He chuckled. “If I can’t make a fake girlfriend fake happy, then what hope is there for me?”

“Exactly. So, how do you want to start stuff?”

“If you were serious about needing a gym buddy, then I’ll take you up on the offer. You prefer mornings or evenings, after work?”

Seeing Reid in workout attire would be a treat. “As much as I hate mornings, I’d prefer to get a workout out of the way first thing.”

“Tomorrow morning it is. I go to Eclipse a couple blocks away. Aiden introduced me to it.”

It was a luxury gym, one way out of my salary band. “I’m not sure I’m an Eclipse kind of girl.”

“Come on. I’ll get you a pass. Since we’ll have to pretend we’ve been dating, we can, uh, learn more about each other in the process.”

My heart beat faster at the thought of spending time with him outside of work. “Okay. Yeah, we probably have a lot to learn in a short period.” I might already have discovered a lot from stalking him over the last few months, but the truth was I didn’t know what made Reid tick. I was looking forward to discovering more.